Minor-league shelling leaves Morales searching

Tucson – Franklin Morales was working overtime in the video room this morning with Triple-A pitching coach Chuck Kniffin.

Morales was studying his delivery and trying to figure a lot of things out — with good reason.

Tuesday, pitching in a minor-league game, the lefty allowed 10 earned runs, all earned, in just five innings. He gave up nine hits, walked three and struck out four. His mechanics were off –again.

With the end of spring training fast approaching, that’s not the kind of news you want from a potential fifth starter. Which is why the Rockies will likely break camp with only four men in the rotation, with the fifth to be determined later in April.

Here was pitching coach Bob Apodaca’s take on Morales the morning after the minor-league meltdown.

What was the basic report on Morales?
“He obviously didn’t pitch well enough. I will talk to ‘Niff’ about it on the ride up to Tempe today and we’ll try to figure out what he can do better.”

But you have seen growth from Morales this spring, right?
“Yes. I think we’ve seen improvement from a year ago. Maybe not as fast as we all wish, but if a player continues to improve, that’s really all you can ask. He’s got to get past another issue that he’s facing right now. It’s that final piece he needs to iron out.”

We’ve seen flashes of talent, but what must he do to avoid these meltdowns? “We need more consistency in his delivery. We have to have him finish going to the plate instead of falling off to the side. That movement has to be unrestricted.”

Is it all mechanical?
“Some of it’s mechanical, but I hate to blame everything on mechanics. Sometimes your pitching selection is bad. Players tend to put all the blame on mechanics, but there is usually more there.

What’s next?
“He has to work on the side to where the changes he needs to make in his delivery become natural. It takes time to trust it and not have to think about it.”

How tough is it?
“That’s the difficulty of any young athlete who is trying to make a ball club. And you are asking him to do something that is a little unnatural right now, plus have success. That’s a bit of a Catch-22 right there.”

Patrick, a third-generation Colorado native, is back for his second stint covering the Rockies. He first covered the team from 2005-2009, helping chronicle “Rocktober” in 2007 and also following the team’s playoff run in 2009.

Nick Groke has worked at The Denver Post since 1997, as a sports reporter, city reporter, entertainment writer and digital editor and producer, among other newsroom posts. He also writes regularly about boxing, soccer, MMA and NASCAR.